The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Friday that NZXT has officially recalled its H1 case because of a design flaw that posed a fire hazard. According to the announcement, NZXT received 11 reports of "circuit boards overheating or catching fire worldwide, six of which occurred in the U.S."
NZXT released the affected case in February 2020. The CPSC said approximately 32,000 units were sold in the U.S., and 1,024 were sold in Canada since that debut. Consumers were advised to "immediately stop using the recalled computer cases and contact NZXT for a free repair kit" so they can safely operate their systems.
This isn't the first time NZXT has promised to resolve this problem. The company said in November 2020 that a screw used to secure the PCIe riser cable was to blame for the issue, so it offered customers a nylon replacement. But earlier this month, Gamers Nexus revealed that the problem actually lay with the PCB design.
NZXT CEO Johnny Hou said the company would remove the H1 from its storefronts, send "redesigned PCIe Gen3 Riser Assemblies for current H1s," and institute "more robust and thorough design processes" in response to the H1's continued problems. At the time of writing, both versions of the H1 remain unavailable from NZXT's website.
That is a bit of a shame. We hailed the H1 as "a solid choice for someone seeking full desktop potential with a very modest footprint" in our review--which was published before the safety concerns were revealed--and it will be one of the best cases you can buy once it's safe to purchase again. Hopefully these problems are H1-and-done.
